One-shot. I apologize for any OOC-ness here, but I just felt compelled to write it. It's just an outsider's look into a world of darkness.
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No one ever really realizes. Really, no one ever does. I suppose they all take it for granted… but I know them. They treasure every moment in life. If only I could treasure every moment too.
"Hey, what'cha doing out here?" Nudge. It was kind of obvious, she spoke more than she breathed.
"Nothing much," There wasn't much for me to do anyway, I couldn't go back to sleep and the chime of the clock told me it was early 6. "Oh." Came her crestfallen reply. I smiled. No matter what she was saying she always seemed to be observing at the same time. I laughed.
"Come on Nudge, you know me better than anyone else!" It was true. We mostly hung out together and she'd always tell me stories with vivid images imprinting itself in my mind.
"So what if I do?" I could just imagine her sticking her tongue out at me playfully.
Chuckling I replied, "Then you know my biggest wish." I could feel the wind messing with my hair. "You do… don't you?" Uncertainty filled my entire being. She did... didn't she?
I felt her hand envelope my own. "Of course I do silly. Why it'd be to become Superman!" I felt her smile and smiled myself.
"I knew you did! I've always wanted to rescue damsels in distress! Maybe they'd get to kiss me huh? Like in Spiderman, as you've often told me." I hadn't been able to watch Spiderman yet, but I knew Nudge would always fill me in.
"Yup!" I heard her laugh loudly. She was laughing so hard against my shoulder I had to laugh too. Then her voice became serious.
"I know what you want, really I do." We stopped laughing and she climbed into my lap before she hugged me. I hugged her back. It had suddenly gotten cold. Sighing, I closed my eyes.
"Is it there yet?" I asked timidly. My heart was pounding in my chest and I could feel the blood rushing through my ears.
"Almost… there it is." I felt her nestle into my arms. "It's beautiful." Weakly I smiled into her hair. I didn't need to ask.
"It's like an egg, honestly, except its all gold with red-orange rays reaching out into the sky which is getting pinker by the minute. I suppose it's because the sky is blue and all, but my God, it's breath taking, really. Though it kind of reminds me of that story where that guy made a river or stream into blood… but it's much nicer and more peaceful. And look! There are hardly any clouds covering the sky at all, and the Sun seems so bright today! I have a good feeling, really I do." I smiled. Once a Nudge, always a Nudge.
"Wow! There's a rainbow! It's so beautiful! All the colours are there! They all blend so perfectly… I… I wish you could wake up to this everyday." I heard the sadness in her voice, the despair, the anguish. We hardly ever woke up to a bright beginning. The rebirth of the sun was one of those simple pleasures that everyone else took for granted. Not us...
"If I could give my life up, just for you to see this all the time… I would. You know that." Her voice was full of hope and understanding. I smiled, my throat seemed so dry and it felt as if my heart was in a vice. I could practically feel all the life drain out of me.
Hoarsely I told her, "I know Nudge, I know." A moment of silence passed between us before I felt her shifting in my lap.
"There's red and orange and yellow and green, and that blue! It's so pretty! And that violet is gorgeous; I mean of course it is, I mean you know how royalty in the olden days used to wear violet and all. I mean, I totally understand now y'know? Though I can't imagine why pink wouldn't be in there, or turquoise or any other obscure colour, but it's still lovely just the same. And over there! In the water, the colours seem to mesh into a masterpiece… It's just… perfection at is best." I could just see it now...
"Hey! We were worried sick about you two! Beds empty, no where to be found! The outrageous- Oh my God! That's magnificent! Hey guys, they're over here!" Max. The mother of our little flock always worried about us, like a mother hen. Except she wasn't running around like a headless chicken, squawking at everyone. She was just Max. With wings, of course.
"Sorry Max, I just had to see the rainbow!" I could hear Max laugh. "Don't worry Nudge, I understand. I could hear flapping and I knew they were coming. Someone sat beside me before whispering in my ear, "Don't worry, Nudge wasn't lying. It is beautiful." I smiled at the youngest member of our group.
"Don't worry my little Angel, I wouldn't doubt her for a second." She knew what you were thinking she did. And like the perfect angel,she comforted you and believed in you, never going against you. However that was all broken.
There was a distinct smell to my right and we all laughed. "Sorry! Didn't mean it, honest!" I could hear the playfulness in his voice and the mock anger in Max's. "Not even you can ruin this moment Gazzy!" She scolded him, laughing.
"I don't think anyone could." You could hear the amusement in his voice. He was always silent, that Fang, but he was one of the best friends in the world. They all were.
"Open your eyes! It's gorgeous!" Nudge encouraged me. I was a little hesitant, I'd never seen a rainbow before. "Come on!"
"Yeah!" The others murmured with her, agreeing. "I order you to!" I chuckled weakly. Max was too stubborn for her own good. Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes.
And I found that I didn't have to stare endlessly at the darkness that was constantly surrounding me, all I had to do was listen to my friends speak and it would just paint image after image in my mind. And I saw.
They are my friends, they care and they don't mind. It's a part of me and I'm a part of them.
It doesn't matter if I couldn't see or if I could. What matters is that they're always there for me. I could always count on them, and they wouldn't let me down, they wouldn't let me fall.
I saw, for the first time in my life, I saw what a rainbow truly was. I never needed to wait for it as it was always there. They say that there's always a pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow.
But this time I'm that pot of gold and they are my rainbow.